Dual Purpose Lightship - mauriceling/mauriceling.github.io GitHub Wiki

I cast no net
Yet presence gathers
I chart no course of distant maps
Anchor where the stars once led
Now I turn my light to guide not chase
My hull houses a different task
Recording the tides
Decoding the skies
And logging volumes of data mine
A still beaconing ship with another work
— 26/06/25

Commentary: As I reflect on being a lightship, I am confronted with a mental hurdle – How I go from a cargo ship whose performance is measured by speed, mileage, and cargo weight; to a lightship whose performance is measured by non-mobility, and non-weight (light)? This jump is too big for me. I’m not 100% comfortable with just being a presence as my contribution, at least at this stage. Then I found something interesting – Some lighthouses / lightships serve dual purposes – firstly as beacon, then secondly as weather / oceanographic station or communication station. This archetype fits my retirement mode – (a) my presence as guiding beacon, and (b) continuing my scientific or development work in background. I may be still but not pure stillness. I can still be mentoring / coaching / guiding, if someone suitable sought me out. If there is nobody, I will still be guiding scientific progress by being reviewer of papers, as associate editor, or can as author of review articles. I can and will always be demonstrating a possibility of financial independence retire early (or recreationally employed). Even a lighthouse / lightship keeper has to be ready for potential shipwreck. Whether is this the optimal balance for me or whether this is a transition phase, only time will tell.